It's time once again to give thanks to my Beta's Sentinel103 and CajunBear73. Especally since I brainfarted it in the last chapter | Doh.

Chapter 38 Thanksgiving

Having left his driver at the car, he stalked along the corridors of the mall and wandered around trying to burn off the frustration of his failed reprisal against the little Japanese twit that snubbed him. Not that he had been the only one. After word got around about her slamming him, she had been blowing off date requests left and right. Even the Junior and Senior classmen had been shot down in flames. Often with that same infuriating "Why would I wanna date a high school boy?"

On his way to the restroom, he passed another guy his age leaning against the wall near a bank of phones. An African-American dressed in a black turtleneck, grey cargos tucked into a pair of black combat boots and what looked like a heavy digital camouflage grey vest jacket. On his back was a small pack. He had his arms crossed watching through hooded eyes as Jeff walked down the deserted corridor. Jeff watched him out of the corner of his eye as he passed, but the other boy never moved.

Jeff entered the restroom and did his business, washed his hands, dried them and turned to leave. He saw the same teen leaning against the doorframe, his pack on the ground beside him. The other boy spoke. "Harassment, stalking, false statements to law enforcement officials, filing false affidavits, I could come up with a couple of others. Your harassment of Ayame Chidori ends now."

Jeff was definitely surprised, but recovered quickly, "What're you talking about?"

"Don't try to BS me. It's didn't take much to figure out that one of those idiots I had arrested was your Uncle. After his arrest, his cell records were open territory. I traced the incoming calls from your phone to his. Once I had the list of calls I talked to Ayame about the names on it, asked if she knew any of them. The only one she knew was yours."

Wade stepped closer to the other boy, almost nose-to-nose, "And while I don't know the content of those calls, the fact that you go to the same school as her, coupled with the fact that she burned you in public, you placing several calls to that moron that threatened her dad and that you're related him, makes for a pretty good case, circumstantial though it is, of someone trying to get petty revenge."

"You're out of you mind. I don't have a clue what you're talking about."

"I oughta just kick your butt right here." Jeff tried a sucker punch swinging a low jab to the belly. Wade didn't even bother to try and block or avoid the punch. He just let it land. When Jeff's strike landed he hit something hard, nearly breaking his hand. He realized that what he thought was just a vest was a lot heaver and denser.

He stepped back with a confused look holding his injured hand. Wade merely tapped his chest, "Interceptor body armor. Same stuff the Army uses. SAPI plates even stop a seven-six-two round. Not a lot of morons running around here with high powered assault weapons though. Try it again and I'll show you a few of the techniques I learned during training. Even if we get caught, it would normally get blown off as a couple guys smacking each other around."

"Except for one thing, I'm officially informing you that you would be striking a Law Enforcement Official and I would be forced to place you under arrest. Care to add assaulting a cop and resisting arrest to the list of charges? So far you're only facing misdemeanors, but those two can become felonies."

"Who the hell are you?"

"Well, I guess that I'm Ayame's boyfriend. Least according to her."

"She said he was a cop and out of college already."

"Well, I graduated 'bout four years ago. I'm a genius, ya see. Literally." Wade reached into his back pocket and pulled out a wallet like detectives and plain clothes cops used and flashed a badge. "I'm also an agent of Global Justice."

"Now I could call NYPD and have you arrested for the charges I mentioned earlier. But I figure you're just a spoiled brat that needs to have his chain yanked a bit. So I'm gonna let ya slide this time."

"But if I find out that you keep bothering her, you're gonna have hell to pay. You keep hassling Ayame, then you and your family gets to face the same threat you pawned off on hers. Because your 'rents obviously don't have a clue about what you've been up to."

"And before you go too steamed and thinking you're better than anyone else, just remember your idiot Uncle and his cronies. They thought the same way. I tried to let them off easy with a warning too, look what happened to them. They're all facing charges of corruption and dereliction of duty."

"Let it go and enjoy your life. I checked into you and your family's background. You got a good chance at going to Harvard, Princeton or Yale when you graduate. The last thing you need is a juvenile record."

Wade picked up the pack and slung it over his shoulder and headed for the door. Grabbing the handle, he said, "I could beat you down hand-to-hand or place you under arrest, I have half a dozen lawyers on retainer to defend me from idiots like your Uncle, and I have so much money I could buy the company you Dad works for and have him fired in less then a week. You're so out-classed that going against us would be like sticking a kindergarten badminton team on the field against the Go City Ursines. You don't have the means to become more than an aggravation to us. Let it go!"

Wade opened the door leaving behind a shaken and livid Jeffery Jackson.

Outside the restroom, Wade started down the corridor towards the exit. He turned a corner to find a smirking Ron. "You need a ride home there, Wadester?"

"Ron? What're you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing, but I overheard most of you leaning on that guy. He's the one that sicced those CPS guys on Mr.C?"

"Looks that way. No hard evidence, but a whole lot of circumstantial stuff."

Ron looked at his friend, "Ya know, Sagara's tweaked at you."

"For what?"

"You broke the first rule of the Team, Wade. You know solo missions are a no-no."

Wade started walking to the exit, "This wasn't really a mission. It was personal."

Ron stopped him with a hand on his shoulder and glared at the teen, "Wade, even I wouldn't go for that. You flashed a badge and threatened him with an arrest. That makes it a mission."

Wade started down the hallway again. "Maybe, but after he turned those idiots loose I wanted make sure it stopped there."

"By the way, I meant to ask you. Why'd you get so torqued at those CPS guys?"

Wade answered, but kept walking, "It was before I took over Kim's site. I had a friend online. She was almost as smart as me. Her dad kept pushing her to try and go to college, but she wanted to stay in the same classes as people her age. He kept trying to force it though. Her family wasn't rich, they lived paycheck to paycheck. But she could have easily gotten a scholarship. One day he took her to an entrance exam and she bombed it, on purpose. When she blew the exam, he snapped and disciplined her. He put her in a coma that lasted a month before she died."

"Come to find out, he was looking at her as a way to get rich. CPS had been told about her home life a couple of times by the school. They did nothing. From what I was able to dig up, the caseworker assigned to the case was the same kind of…" Wade paused, then snarled, "'Crat as those that went after Mr. Chidori."

"I can't prove it, but he was trying to make a name for himself. Working for Child Protection was just a stepping stone for him on his way to going into politics. He wanted to have a rep for hammering big name child abusers. He got one all right. The rep of someone that let a nine year old girl slip through the cracks and die."

Wade stopped and looked up at Ron, "She was one of the reasons I decided to start helping you and Kim. I figured the two of you would never let that happen."

Ron looked at his friend for a moment. He put his arm over the smaller boy's shoulder and said, "Come on Wade, let's go home. I got the Sloth in the parking lot."

A few days later, after much coercion, both Anne Possible and Barbara Stoppable relented into allowing their children to play host for Thanksgiving dinner. There were several arguments their children used to convince the Mothers that Team Possible headquarters was the best locale to hold the combined feast.

As large as the Stoppable back yard might have been, this was late November in middle of the Rockies. Other then being cold, the weather was apt to be unpredictable. Therefore it needed to be either under cover or inside.

Another factor Ron brought into play against the Mothers was that the house of neither parent had a Commercial Grade Kitchen and full-sized freight elevator to transport the victuals to the dining area in the Dojo where they were planning to serve the feast.

That led to the final nail in the coffin of the Mothers intentions. To the normal list of James, Anne, the Tweebs, Gene, Barbara, Kim, Ron and Rufus, this year added Hanna and two more guests in the form of Kaname and Sousuke. In previous years, as big as the Possible house was, seating for eight was doable, but packing eleven people in the dining room wasn't happening.

That wasn't counting the two 'surprise' guests only a select few knew were coming, bringing the total to thirteen. The only member of the Team to be left off the list was Wade because his parents wanted him home with them for the day.

After much consideration, Ron had even extended an invitation to Fukushima. The Swordmaster looked suspiciously at his student and asked him why he was doing so. Ron had asked to use Japanese when they were training only switching to English for clarifications. Ron shrugged and said slowly, "This is America and its Thanksgiving. In this country, it's a holiday that's been set down for nearly three hundred years. Thanking Kami-sama for the bounty of the harvest, the fact you've lived to see another year, your family and friends, all the good things in your life. And for us, it's not one to be spent alone."

Fukushima eyed Ron for a moment and said, "Gakusei Arigatō. Iye, as you say, it is a time for family and friends. We are neither, nor are we likely to become so. Enjoy your time with them. In the meantime, I will retreat into the mountains for a few days for meditation." Fukushima turned and headed to the showers. He looked back and said, "Sensei planned for the American holidays by placing rest periods within the schedule he gave me for your training. Take the next few days to, I believe you Americans call it, recharge. After the holiday, we shall resume training. Prepare yourself; we will begin adding new elements for the Katana and other weapons to the regimen."

Kim and Ron had won a victory in getting their Mothers to relent and let them host the dinner. That's not to say there weren't daily phone calls and/or visits to determine if any assistance was needed. But both Kim and Ron continually informed their Mothers they had things under control.

Kim kept trying to get Ron to let her help in the kitchen. It was the kitchen that lead to their first real fight. Kim was of the opinion that 'She could do anything!'. Ron knew better. He reminded her, "Uh, KP, do you remember the modifications we made to the kitchen? The fire suppression system?" Shortly after moving in, Ron, Sagara and Wade had installed a Commercial Grade Fire System over the stove.

Now it should be noted that Ron had been trying to teach her things that were both simple and tasty, that she could safely create without having the Cardox System (a commercial CO2 fire suppression system) go off. Dishes like salads using thinly sliced sandwich ham and turkey along with the supply of bacon and hard boiled eggs he kept pre-cooked in the refrigerator for her. Some chunked tomato and cucumber, grated carrots, shredded cheeses and a dressing and she had her lunch.

Or using the coffee maker to heat the water for Ramen or angel hair pastas. Adding some beef jerky and a few frozen veggies heated in the microwave to the Ramen made for a quick, tasty and, most importantly, safe soup. The angel hair received a similar treatment as the salads, substituting the pasta for the lettuce and using vinaigrette or Italian dressing.

Sandwiches were also on the Kim-safe menu. A can of tuna, drained, a bit of hard boiled egg, some of Ron's homemade relish, grated cheese, and ranch dressing and voila. BLT's were easy enough as well, though Ron kept her away from the bacon grease he saved and used as a flavoring at all cost. It was too explosive!

They had all found as long as she stayed with 'simple machines' (levers, inclined planes, and pulleys) she was OK. Using a knife was acceptable as well. But it was most electronics above the level of the can opener that were her bane. The refrigerator, microwave and coffeemaker were safe, but the high-end stove, the blender and Ron's' Cuisinart were off limits. Ron had even threatened to have Wade install a fingerprint scanner if she didn't leave them alone.

Ron had tried to be circumspect, but with Kimness in full effect, she wasn't hearing it. That is until he lost his temper and asked her, "Are you trying to kill everyone in the building."

Kim wasn't amused. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what it sounded like. You and the Tweebs are the only people in the history of the state to have their own codes with the Fire Department." Ron was really aggravated by now. He pointed to a large red cylinder in the corner that had a pipe running from it to the area over the stove. "Can you name anyone else that has a 50 pound Cardox system in the kitchen? NO? Well, Kaname doesn't need it and I certainly don't. Hell, even Sagara Sousuke, the walking explosive disaster zone, doesn't need it.

"Denying the problem don't change things, Kim. Ron loses his pants for no reason. Denying the fact doesn't mean it don't happen. So I've accepted the fact that it happens and try to figure how to fix it.

"You are a catastrophe in the kitchen. Why? I have no idea. I don't really care, I love you anyway. But I accept the fact and try work around it!" With a trembling lip and shining eyes she turned and bolted from the kitchen. Ron sighed, "Awww man. Me and my big mouth."

In one of the small study offices Kaname and Sousuke were doing some of their assigned homework and had heard everything. Kaname told him, "Wait here unless I call for you." He nodded and she headed to the kitchen.

Ron had started to trail after Kim only to be intercepted by Kaname. While she really couldn't argue with Ron's statements, she did take issue with the way he said it. "This requires a girl's touch. I'll talk to her."

"Tell her I'm sorry about what I said."

"No, you're not. It needed to be said. I've had to help clean up after her a few times; I know what a disaster she is in there. It's not what you said. It's how you said it!"

Kaname bypassed Kim's door, figuring it was locked, and entered her room. She went through the bathroom and opened the other door. Kim was on her bed, knees drawn to her chest, arms around her legs with Pandaroo poking his head out above her knees. Kaname leaned against the doorjamb and crossed her arms. Cocking her head to the side she said, "Ron's a Baka."

Kim shifted just her eyes to the Japanese girl and muttered, "He's not an Idiot."

"Sure he is, he's a guy! And guys are Baka." Kaname grinned, "Why do you think I don't let Sousuke run around without a leash? There's no telling the trouble the guys would get into without us girls to keep them under control. Ron's the same way."

A rueful smile appeared on Kim face. Kaname's expression changed to a serious one as she sat on the bed and said, "That doesn't mean he was wrong though. He might have been a bit gentler, but he's right. There's too much going on in there for you to try and help. You've noticed I've stayed out of the way. Are you better in the kitchen than me?" Kim didn't look up, but her eyes widened. "Didn't think so. I tell you what I do think. I think you missed the important part of what he said."

Kim's shoulders slumped even more, "No, I caught it. I'm a 'catastrophe in the kitchen'."

"He did say that, and I can't argue with him on it, but that's not the important part. The part you should have been paying attention to was what he said right after that."

Kim raised her eyes and looked at her friend questioningly. "What'd he say?"

Kaname grinned, "I thought you missed that. You were too busy hearing 'catastrophe' to listen to the rest." Smiling at the red-head, she told her, "He said he doesn't care, he loves you anyway."

A look of wonder crossed Kim's face as she raised her head and the words filtered back into her mind. "Oh My God, he did say that didn't he?" Her shoulders slumped again, "Ron's not the Baka, I am!"

"He asked me to tell you he was sorry. Tell ya what, I'll go with you and take over for him for a while and you two straighten this out. How's that sound?"

"Thanks."

When they got to the living room, Kaname pointed to the patio, saying, "I'll send him out to you." Kim left through the sliding door and Kim entered the kitchen. She found Ron in the kitchen trying to finish his preparations for the next day. But she could tell that he was just going through the motions. Kaname took over and sent Ron on his way, calling for Sousuke to join her in the kitchen.

Over the last months, the patio had become a sort of neutral zone. It was quiet and with only one door; it offered a surprising amount of privacy. It had become the place they went when they wanted to talk or to be alone for a while. Ron had practically camped out there after Roger had been killed.

Kim was sitting on one of the hammock swings set against the wall of the apartment. She and Kaname had insisted upon them. They had movable canopies and Sousuke had added fabric sides and a small heater for when the weather turned. It had taken an act of Kaname-sama to make sure he didn't use a camouflaged pattern. There was even a small stack of folding tables leaning against the side of the elevator shaft.

She heard the door open, then close. She was sitting in the swing to the left of the door watching the setting sun, facing away from the door. She heard Ron take a breath and knew, instantly, he was about to apologize. "Don't."

"Uhh, don't what, Kim?"

She turned to look at him, "Don't apologize."

"But I was wrong for what I said."

She patted the spot beside her. "No, you weren't."

Ron took the offered seat and remained quiet as she snuggled into his side, pulling his arms around her, watching the sunset. Here on the eastern face of the Rockies, nighttime came fast as the sun dropped behind the mountains.

"Ron, I want you to know this isn't about you. It's about me. My whole life I've been able to do anything I set my mind to. Except for two things. The first was finding the right guy; I just kept screwing up it up."

She felt Ron stiffen, but she rolled over anything he could say. "But eventually I even got that right. I finally saw what was under my nose my entire life and noticed the one guy that had been there the whole time. The only one that would do anything for me. None of those guys in high school would have gone to the Amazon jungle just to get a flower to save me."

"Not even the guy I risked my life, like an idiot, to go out on a date with. And none of them would've stepped up to do what he did for me at Graduation. Not 'could have', but 'would have'. There's just one guy that would have done that. Even if he didn't have Mystical Monkey Power, he would have still risked his life for me."

While she had been talking she felt him relax again and tried to burrow deeper into his arms. "And now there's only one thing I can't seem to get right. And it's just sooooo frustrating." She growled the last. "Ronnie, I've never failed at anything I really wanted to do. Except cook. What is wrong with me?"

"KP, we all have our limitations. I mean without a LOT more training, I don't think I'd trust you to do brain surgery. That's what your Mom's for. And unless you've been taking a bunch of accounting classes I don't know about, I wouldn't let ya do the taxes on Team Possible either. That's why I hired a CPA. Even your Dad still hires Burn Burman every January 15th at the beginning of tax season. And MrDrP is a 'Rocket Scientist'." She could hear his voice rumbling in his chest as he answered. It was a comforting sound that never failed to relax her.

"But, God forbid, if something happened on a mission and one of us got hurt, that's why we've all been taking those Combat First Responder classes. I'd trust ya to do what ya have to do. And I know you'd be just fine doing your own 1040A."

Ron paused because he knew he was about to enter touchy territory, "Cooking is the same way." Longer pause. He took a breath and dove in, "You shouldn't try to make 'Death by Chocolate' or a Thanksgiving dinner, but have I ever refused it when you make us a snack or a salad or that soup I taught you?"

She answered quietly, "No."

"There ya go. It's all about degrees and knowing your limits." Ron's tone changed to a slightly harder one, "I know you can still kick my biscuit hand-to-hand in the Dojo. But if I got my hands on a Katana or a Bo, what would you do?"

She smiled, "Stay out of range and try to figure a way to disarm you."

"Why?"

She rolled to face him. "Because since you've started training with Sagara and that, grrrr, Fukushima, you've gotten a lot better with weapons."

"Now, KP, he's settled down a lot in the last couple of weeks."

"He's still arrogant."

I'll grant you that. For him, part of it's cultural. Another part is, he really is, 'that good'. I think the only reasons I beat him last time was he wasn't expecting it and underestimated me and I unconsciously used the MMP." Ron grinned, "I must getting better though 'cause he won't let me touch the Lotus Blade while we're training."

Kim smiled, "We'll have to see how much better you've gotten then." she dropped the smile saying, "But we're getting off-track. Ronnie, I'm sorry. It's just that my 'rents are coming too and I want to help with our first Thanksgiving dinner."

"I know ya do, KP. And I'm glad for the help." Ron looked stern now, "As long as you remember limitations. You wanna cut veggies, OK. You wanna grab something I ask for, OK. Your mom has Nurses and Assistants in the OR. She asks for an instrument and one of them passes it to her. But the Nurse keeps their hands out of the patient's skull, don't they?"

Kim beamed at him, "Ron, you're the greatest." As she lowered her face to his, she said, "And I love you, too."

Back in the kitchen Sousuke was getting instruction on preparing fresh green beans as Kaname kept an eye on the stocks and roux simmering on the stove. The two of them enjoying the simple act of spending time together.

Sousuke looked around noting the vast amount of food Ron had laid out. "Kaname-chan, there is going to be more food here then can possibly be eaten in one sitting. Even with the addition of both the Possible and Stoppable families."

She looked at him in shock and sympathy as something occurred to her. Not only was Thanksgiving a day that the Soldier had never celebrated, it was one he never had the chance to. He'd lost his family too early. Her heart felt like it was breaking at the things that had been denied him as a child.

She lowered the heat on the stove, walked to him and gently took the bean he had in his hands and set it in the pot. She set him in a chair, sat in his lap and said, "That's because it's Thanksgiving, Sousuke. It's a day of thanking God for all the good in the past year. When I was younger and living in America the first time, my Mother had taken to the holiday with a will. The idea of setting aside a day to give thanks to the Higher Powers, be they God or Kami, appealed to both my Parents."

"I remember it was one of the few times Daddy never grumbled about not having Japanese dishes for dinner." While they waited for Ron to return, she told him about spending the holiday with her family and how much she enjoyed it and how much she missed her Mother during the holiday.

She looked at him very seriously and said, "Sousuke, there's something I want you to know. As much as I miss being with my family, right here, right now, I can't think of anybody I'd rather be with on Thanksgiving than you."

Sousuke had learned a lot in the last two years of being around the young woman. And one of the things he had learned was, when she said something like that, it required a certain response. He showed he had learned the lesson well as he tilted his head to the side and leaned in, giving her a kiss that curled her toes.

When they broke for air, she gave him the sunbeam smile that never failed to leave him in awe. She stood and playfully said, "Those beans won't clean themselves, so get to work."

As he continued to snap the ends off of the fresh green beans, watching her as she floated around the kitchen, Sousuke was thinking. Listening to Kaname talk of Thanksgiving's past had given Sousuke an idea. He excused himself to "Use to latrine. ", pulling his cell once he was out of the kitchen. It was a few hours later there, but Sousuke made the phone call anyway.

The next morning, Kaname awoke to discover that her boyfriend was missing. Not finding him in the apartment, she found Kim and Ron snuggling on the couch and asked if they knew where Sousuke was. Ron jumped up saying, "Igottachecktheturkey! Bye!" and bolted.

"Kim?"

The redhead had a knowing grin, "Sagara said he had to go pick something up. But I heard the elevator a minute ago; I think he's coming up now." She turned to follow Ron, "I'm gonna see if Ron has anything ready to take downstairs."

Wondering what was up with her friends, Kaname went to meet her beau. But it was a frazzled Shunya and pumped Ayame that first exited the elevator. Kaname's shock was total at seeing her Father and Sister standing in the doorway. Jumping into her Fathers arms with, "DADDY, imouto-chan, what are you doing here?"

Shunya said, "For the answer to that, you should ask him." he pointed to Sousuke behind him.

She looked at the young man and he said, "I thought about what you said last night. You're telling me about how much you enjoyed spending the American holidays with your family when you were younger. Since this is supposed to be a family holiday, I guessed you would like to have them here."

She slammed into Sousuke with tears of joy in her eyes. Holding him tightly, her face in his chest, she said, "Sometimes I think you're the most clueless guy in the world, and then you do something like this. Thank you!"

"My pleasure, Kaname-chan."

Kaname looked at her relatives, noticing her fathers sweating, "Daddy, what's wrong?"

He had pulled out a handkerchief and was blotting at his forehead, "Let us just say the trip here was… interesting."

A stoked Ayame was a bit more eloquent, "Interesting? Is that all you gotta say? That was the best ride I've ever been on! I can't wait till we get to go home!"

"And I am dreading it!"

Kaname had an idea what they were talking about, "Sousuke?"

"I bought them here the same way we got to New York last week. Sub-orbital flight in Possible-san's vehicle."

Looking at her Father, Kaname said, "Come on, Daddy, it couldn't have been that bad. I've ridden in it on several flights. It's perfectly safe."

"I didn't say it wasn't safe. And it's not the 'flight' part that is disturbing. It's the takeoff and reentry!"

Ayame jumped in with, "Other than being weightless that was the best part!" She looked at Kaname and said, "You're really lucky, Nee-chan! You get to do that all the time!"

Kaname set her hands on her Sister's shoulders, looked her straight in the eye and, with a very serious voice, said, "Yes, we do. But you have to remember that we usually only get to do things like that when we're on a mission. Usually because somebody's threatening something."

Ayame sobered quickly remembering seeing her Sister dressed for action in body armor and armed to the teeth, rushing out of the garage after hustling her and her father into the lab, preparing to face an armed enemy. She rallied quickly, "Yeah, but still! You can't tell me it's not a rush."

Kaname grinned, "I didn't say that. For me the only thing better is taking Eleanor to the track. Come on, dinner will be ready soon." As she passed by she gave Sousuke a peck on the cheek.

Shunya noted the easy familiarity of the gesture and caught the young mans sleeve. When the girls were out of earshot, he asked, "You remember what we talked about before I left the last time. Your given word, correct?"

"Of course Chidori-san. I told you then that I am inexperienced with interpersonal relations, so I let myself be guided by Kaname-chan. The last thing I wish to do is cause her harm."

Seeing the intensity within the younger man's eyes and knowing how his Daughter felt about him, Shunya gave a melancholy smile and cryptically said, "Young man, I don't think you realize that a time is going to come, when if you don't hurt her a little bit, you will hurt her a lot."

Sousuke was confused and said, "Sir?"

Seeing Sousuke's confusion, Shunya placed a hand on the young mans shoulder and replied, "Don't worry about it. I'm sure that when the time is right, she will explain it to you."

"Affirmative."

Shunya pulled a small box from his jacket pocket, "I have something for her. It belonged to her Mother. Her Mother wanted Kana-chan to have it and it's time that she did." He passed the box to Sousuke. "I know how you feel about my Daughter, young man, and I can't think anyone else I rather have give it to her then you." As Sousuke opened the box, Shunya asked, "You know what that is, what it represents?"

Sousuke swallowed, "Yes Sir."

"Good. Don't make her wait too long young man; my Daughter can have a fearsome temper."

"Of that I am well aware, Sir."

"So I've heard. She comes by it honestly. Come; let us join the rest of the group before she gets suspicious."

"Yes, Sir."

Shortly after the Chidori's arrival, the Possible and Stoppable clans arrived. With the help of all assembled, the Dojo was turned into an impromptu dining hall using the small stack of folding chairs Sousuke had procured in case they needed to give a briefing to operatives outside of the Team and the folding tables the Team kept on the roof for an alfresco luncheon or dinner.

For everyone the entertainment started early. The first thing was Hana and Rufus. He stayed on her shoulders, shifting from one side to the other, chittering at her. She was thrilled by the new environment, toddling around trying to see everything.

But when she tried to do something that would get her, or more likely someone else, hurt, Rufus would chatter at her and she would pause. She would look at the naked mole-rat for a moment and ask what would obviously be a question in a 15 month-olds dialect. Rufus would squeak an answer and she would head in another direction.

Kim and Ron were shocked to say the least. Both vividly remembered trying to corral the "Super Baby from Project Jugger-tot" who was a Master of "Tot Kwon Do" and keep her from running across the ceiling, let alone crawling under the coffee table "Uhhhhhh, Mom, how long has this been going on?"

"Since shortly after you moved over to Roger's place, Thank Yahweh. I don't think we could have handled her without that brave little mole-rat. He's kept her out of more trouble than I care to even think about. The daycare won't even take her anymore, unless Rufus is with her!"

For most of the adult members of the group, including Kim, Ron and Kaname, but excluding Sousuke and, strangely, Anne Possible, the next bit of entertainment came from a different direction. Even if he had been entertained, Sousuke wouldn't have let on even under thumbscrews.

Anne on the other hand was realizing that maybe she had been a bit too hard on her husband during Kim's dating years, because while she wasn't likely to threaten a deep space probe, she was now considering a brain transplant.

The Tweebs had discovered GIRLS. Specifically one girl, named Ayame! She was like a flower with a couple of bees buzzing around her. Jim and Tim hadn't met the Japanese girl the last time she had come to Middleton and they were torqued at their older sister for not introducing them to her. Grrrrr!

Surprisingly, even Shunya was amused because he knew something the boys didn't.

And that was that Ayame's only problem with the Thanksgiving Day visit was that her hero wasn't there. And she was mad at her older sister for not making it happen. Grrrrr!

All in all, it wasn't a good day to be an older sister.

While the adults talked amongst themselves, they all watched the angst and drama. It wasn't long before the females realized that there was a game being played. As Jim and Tim kept trying to turn the conversation to something else, Ayame kept asking them questions about WADE. And she knew exactly what was going on. She did nothing to encourage the boys. But more importantly, she didn't discourage them either.

Kim, who was grinning like a fool, looked at Kaname and said, "Oooooo, she's gonna be good when she get's older."

Kaname wiped away a crocodile tear, answered, "I'm so proud of my little sister."

Kim told her with a savage grin, "I gotta thank her later. Your little sis is giving me some great payback. Those two practically tortured me in high school. They were a blight on my teenage years. All that 'Sittin in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G' when I was trying to get ready for a date. The little pests. And when me and Ron started getting serious, they were insufferable!"

The Japanese girl looked at her friend, "I always wanted a little brother. I only had Ayame when I was younger."

Kim stared back with narrowed eyes, "I would a traded ya in an instant, probably would a thrown in Pandaroo as an incentive bonus.

"They were that bad?"

"You have no idea! Little brothers are a teenage girl's bane!"

Using a couple of the equipment carts they had cleaned and covered with a cloth, Ron, Sousuke, Kim and Kaname brought the rest of the food down to the Dojo. When they arrived, there was a bit of confusion. They had set out four of the tables in a large rectangle, leaving room at both the head and foot for two people to sit side-by-side.

The young adults noted that everyone had taken places at the sides of the table, Mr. Chidori on one end, Ayame beside him. Across from them were the Tweebs gazing at an apparently oblivious Ayame. She wasn't paying them any mind because she was tickling Hana in a highchair beside her, Rufus on her shoulder. Beside Hana was Barbara, then Gene. Across from the Stoppables were James and Anne.

But both ends of the table were left open.

"Uhh, MrDrP, aren't you going to sit there?" Ron was pointing to 'there', the head of the table. Traditionally, in the Possible home, James was the one that sat at the head of the table. In the Stoppable home it was Gene. And since the Possibles had the larger home, by default, it had normally been their home that held most of the Thanksgivings throughout the years.

James answered, "No Ronald."

Ron was still confused, "Why not?"

James first looked at Ron, "Because this isn't my home, Ronald." Then at his daughter, "It's yours'." Back to Ron, "And sitting at the head of the table here, isn't my place." Unseen below the table, a beaming Anne set her hand on her husband knee.

The hosts set out the remainder of the feast and took their places. When they were seated, his Father said, "Ronald, would you be kind enough to give the Blessing? It is your home after all."

Ron said, "Funny you should mention that, Dad. It's like Dr.P said, KP and I live here now, and it's our home. But we don't own it." Ron gave his goofy grin and pointed to the other end of the table, "He does."

Now the spotlight was squarely focused on the young man. He was starting to sweat when he looked around the table at the guests. He felt someone take his hand and looked to his side and saw the smile she only had for him. She said, "The Blessing is just giving thanks, Sousuke." He knew. Right then, he knew the time had come.

"I am reminded of a quote from Churchill, 'When you're going through Hell, keep going.' For many years that was the only thing I did. 'Keep going.' It seemed that I was living in Hell and the only thing I had to be thankful for was surviving another day. I never knew if I would have a safe place to sleep or enough food to eat. The people I thought were my friends merely used me as tool for their own agendas."

"Then I met people that really cared about me. Not for what I could do for them, but for myself. Not the Soldier or the Arm Slave pilot, but Sousuke Sagara. They were the reason I met Kaname-chan then the rest of you. I am thankful to Andre Kalinin for getting me out of the mountains and being a mentor, Tessa Testarossa, Melissa Mao and Kurz Weber for being my first real friends and being there when I needed them. To Kimberly-san, Ronald-san and Wade-sensei for allowing me into their lives and being my friends."

He swallowed and looked at the young woman at his side. "But the thing I am most thankful for is Kaname Chidori. For showing me not just how to exist, but how to live. My friends gave me back my life, but she was the one that showed me what it meant."

He had gone into Combat with five to one odds against and not had his heart pound this hard in his chest. He had faced lunatics bent on killing whole cities and not been this nervous. With a visibly trembling hand, he set a small velvet covered box on the table in front of her. "And I would be Honored if she would allow me to spend the rest of it, trying to repay her for that."